@mvatikiotis.bsky.social
Writer, Private Diplomat - based in Asia.
The way peace is waged today, we are forced to accept half measures. A non-ceasefire in Gaza that permits ongoing killing; an end to the war in Ukraine that confers victory on the invader. No rules no justice.
November 23, 2025 at 5:19 PM
The way peace is waged today, we are forced to accept half measures. A non-ceasefire in Gaza that permits ongoing killing; an end to the war in Ukraine that confers victory on the invader. No rules no justice.
The new diplomacy - fast, loose, privately led and unbound by rules.
www.scmp.com/week-asia/op...
www.scmp.com/week-asia/op...
Opinion | Diplomacy in the age of populism is fast, fickle and unbound by the rules of old
Swift, informal deals can quickly defuse crises, but without a new rules-based order, global stability is being held hostage to chance.
www.scmp.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:17 AM
The new diplomacy - fast, loose, privately led and unbound by rules.
www.scmp.com/week-asia/op...
www.scmp.com/week-asia/op...
By exempting mobile phones and other electronic devices from tariffs, the US blinked in its trade war with China - as these items are mainly made in China!
April 13, 2025 at 6:58 AM
By exempting mobile phones and other electronic devices from tariffs, the US blinked in its trade war with China - as these items are mainly made in China!
The Red Scares of 20th-century anti-communism are being replaced by a new frenzy, whipped up against left-wing supporters of the Palestinian cause. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/o...
Opinion | Don’t Fool Yourself Into Thinking It Will Stop With Mahmoud Khalil
The arrest and detention of Mahmoud Khalil show that the culture war is no longer just a culture war.
www.nytimes.com
March 16, 2025 at 4:34 PM
The Red Scares of 20th-century anti-communism are being replaced by a new frenzy, whipped up against left-wing supporters of the Palestinian cause. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/o...
International justice in motion
March 11, 2025 at 3:47 PM
International justice in motion
Democar is dying in darkness www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/b...
Jeff Bezos’ Directive for Washington Post Opinion Pages Leads to Editor David Shipley’s Exit
David Shipley, The Post’s opinion editor, is resigning after trying to persuade Jeff Bezos to reconsider the new direction.
www.nytimes.com
February 27, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Democar is dying in darkness www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/b...
Europe laments US norm-trashing yet Germany Is also doing the same. It really is the end of the collective West. www.ft.com/content/99ab...
German election winner to welcome Benjamin Netanyahu despite ICC arrest warrant
Israeli prime minister’s office describes Friedrich Merz’s gesture as ‘overt defiance’ of international court
www.ft.com
February 25, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Europe laments US norm-trashing yet Germany Is also doing the same. It really is the end of the collective West. www.ft.com/content/99ab...
UN Security Council on Ukraine become resolutions are as empty and meaningless as they are on Gaza. The world loses its moral compass www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/w...
U.S. Votes Against U.N. Resolution Demanding Russian Withdrawal from Ukraine
The United States opposed a resolution demanding Russian withdrawal from Ukraine, but won Security Council approval of one calling for peace without assigning blame, exposing fissures between allies.
www.nytimes.com
February 25, 2025 at 12:48 AM
UN Security Council on Ukraine become resolutions are as empty and meaningless as they are on Gaza. The world loses its moral compass www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/w...
Strong words from the FT on America as adversary.
February 23, 2025 at 5:12 AM
Strong words from the FT on America as adversary.
History has shown repeatedly that restricting a free press is a precursor to very bad things. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/o...
Opinion | Trump’s Ban on The A.P. Echoes Orwell’s ‘1984’
As a former White House reporter, I’m familiar with the conventional disputes between journalists and the president. This isn’t one of those.
www.nytimes.com
February 23, 2025 at 1:40 AM
History has shown repeatedly that restricting a free press is a precursor to very bad things. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/o...
Reposted
WSJ sub: “Indian Partition went smoothly enough, right? Will try to remember to check this before publishing.”
February 13, 2025 at 11:15 AM
WSJ sub: “Indian Partition went smoothly enough, right? Will try to remember to check this before publishing.”
Modi brings a bevy of officials to meet Musk - he brings the kids.
February 14, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Modi brings a bevy of officials to meet Musk - he brings the kids.
Trump foretold - in 1935.
February 11, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Trump foretold - in 1935.
the United States under Trump is acting a lot like China under President Xi Jinping. This is an unbecoming position for a liberal democracy that has long championed the rule of law and a rules-based international system. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Trump’s tariff tactics are an unpromising foreign policy anomaly
There’s no U.S. precedent for Trump’s tariff use. But it does evoke China’s economic bullying.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 10, 2025 at 3:28 AM
the United States under Trump is acting a lot like China under President Xi Jinping. This is an unbecoming position for a liberal democracy that has long championed the rule of law and a rules-based international system. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Saudi Arabia refers to those advocating the eviction of Palestinians from their land as “extremists”.
February 9, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Saudi Arabia refers to those advocating the eviction of Palestinians from their land as “extremists”.
Beijing sees Trump’s second term as a potential opportunity for China to expand its influence farther and faster. www.foreignaffairs.com/china/chinas...
China’s Trump Strategy
Beijing is preparing to take advantage of disruption.
www.foreignaffairs.com
February 8, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Beijing sees Trump’s second term as a potential opportunity for China to expand its influence farther and faster. www.foreignaffairs.com/china/chinas...
There goes free speech in America www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2025/01/29/j...
Jewish Voice for Peace Opposes Trump’s Plan to Silence and Deport Anti-War Students - JVP
This Executive Order should be taken as the sham that it is. Trump, the far-Right, and ultra-conservative groups like the Heritage Foundation have never protected Jewish people; they are not concerned...
www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org
January 30, 2025 at 12:33 AM
There goes free speech in America www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2025/01/29/j...
Denmark and Mexico standing up to US imperialist aggression and bluster! Who would have thought?
January 25, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Denmark and Mexico standing up to US imperialist aggression and bluster! Who would have thought?
Many friends tried to maintain a “dry January”, but as January 20th approaches these efforts have become decidedly damp.
January 15, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Many friends tried to maintain a “dry January”, but as January 20th approaches these efforts have become decidedly damp.
Hope that: it should be reassuring that democracy is not facing a global extinction event but more a patchwork of storms, and that democracies have usually found a way to weather them. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/o...
Opinion | Democracy is Not Facing a Global Extinction Event
Right-wing parties may be in the ascendant, but overall, democracy is not at risk.
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Hope that: it should be reassuring that democracy is not facing a global extinction event but more a patchwork of storms, and that democracies have usually found a way to weather them. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/o...
Trump’s appointees vary in philosophy, competence and character, but one requirement for them is unfortunately consistent: the likelihood that they will carry out Trump’s orders blind to norms and standards underlying effective governance, or perhaps even to legality. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/05/o...
Opinion | John Bolton: For Donald Trump, the Only Loyalty Is Fealty
Neither kings nor presidents, nor their countries, are well served if they are surrounded by sycophants and rent-seekers.
www.nytimes.com
January 6, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Trump’s appointees vary in philosophy, competence and character, but one requirement for them is unfortunately consistent: the likelihood that they will carry out Trump’s orders blind to norms and standards underlying effective governance, or perhaps even to legality. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/05/o...
In London watching the Sunday talk shows. Elon Musk has truly managed to interfere in UK politics, stoking anti-Muslim sentiment and fuelling support for the far right Reform Party. Very scary.
January 5, 2025 at 10:25 AM
In London watching the Sunday talk shows. Elon Musk has truly managed to interfere in UK politics, stoking anti-Muslim sentiment and fuelling support for the far right Reform Party. Very scary.
Great start to 2025: two US soldiers blow themselves up on city streets, anti-immigrant sentiment intensifies in the UK, Israel’s bombing of Northern Gaza kills more children and a ceasefire seems impossible and South Korean democracy is on a knife’s edge.
January 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Great start to 2025: two US soldiers blow themselves up on city streets, anti-immigrant sentiment intensifies in the UK, Israel’s bombing of Northern Gaza kills more children and a ceasefire seems impossible and South Korean democracy is on a knife’s edge.
